Life is a lot about connection. We are associated with people in so many ways: home, work, school and etc. However, there are only a few people who would really have your back in an emergency. You know who I am talking about! This is your tribe! These are the people who have seen you in stressful circumstances and naturally step up to help you. I love my tribe! They are reliable, good people who make the world a better place! Meet some of my favorite people: my sisters. Aren’t they adorable? 🙂
Technically some of them are sisters in law, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Truthfully we are just sisters. 🙂 All of us a part of a great big family trying to make a difference in the world. We have a couple of teachers, a registered dietician, one of us helped her husband get his medical practice into full swing, another has 6 kids age 12 and under to nurture and love. (That’s our own Kayleen) Actually between the girls pictured we have 28 kids, including one set of triplets! Yep, we are pretty into family! It’s a beautiful thing!
Relationships take investments of time in order to keep the connection fresh and strong! You have heard of dating your husband? Well you need to have building time with your other peeps too. I have seen how bi-yearly family reunions can make a big difference in forging connections for cousins. Right now there are 7 cousins at the same university and they get together for a cousin dinner or breakfast to stay close! We as their moms LOVE this! They love it too! Hooray for family!
So let’s talk sister’s weekend. What makes in magical? Time away from the very kids and responsibilities we tend to daily. Running away from our normal lives to play and reconnect helps us to come back refreshed and ready to love on our kiddos and spouses again. It doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate it just needs to be away from your work. One year for the sister’s weekend we did it in my home! My husband and kids went to stay at another brother’s house, so we could relax. We’ve had a mix of locations from Oklahoma, to Arizona, Las Vegas and California. If you have a lovely mix of people, it is easy to chat, laugh, eat and relax those few days away into a joyful memory.
In planning this weekend, we knew we would only have a couple of days. We began a text conversation about dates and then got to work picking out a place. We choose a condo within steps of Newport Beach. It had a lovely patio up top. 6 ladies were able to attend and all of them pitched in for the condo. We started the fun Thursday night and checked out Sunday morning. One sister flew in from South Carolina, one from Colorado, a few from Arizona and one from just an hour away. One thing is for sure, there is never an easy time, so plan ahead and commit to a date. Will there really ever be a completely open weekend? Not likely and if there is, it won’t be open for all of you, so if you want to make it happen, you have got to just jump in.
I knew in putting the weekend together we would need just a couple excursions, so I peeked at Groupon and found a whale watching trip for $20 a person. Um what? Wow! That is perfect. Please know that a whale watching trip does not guarantee seeing any wildlife. In fact it turns out we did not spot a single whale, or dolphin, but ended up having a leisurely boat ride in the Pacific ocean right before sunset. Pretty Dreamy!
We ended up walking the beach every morning. We couldn’t help ourselves, the sea air is amazing and those of us from Arizona are already in the throes of heat. Kayleen spotted some dolphins in the ocean fairly close to the cluster of surfers near the shore, which was pretty amazing and a nice consolation prize for not spotting anything from the boat.
The other activity that seemed too good to pass up was a reflexology session. We found a place just 2 miles from our condo that could accommodate all 6 of us Saturday morning. How amazing to go on a retreat and have a massage too! When one of our brothers found out we were going for a massage, he immediately offered to treat all of his sisters. It was the cutest icing on the cake, unexpected and incredibly sweet! So between the boat tour and reflexology, we wandered the boardwalk, the pier, and the beach. We also relaxed on the rooftop, perused a few shops and went to a couple yummy places to eat, happily chatting the weekend away.
I’m grateful for these ladies. I love the way they stand up in the world for good. I love the way they love their families and honestly I am just grateful to be a part with them.
What do I hope you get from all this? Well truthfully, I hope you look at this little slice of heaven and consider your own tribe and put together a weekend for the people who make your life fun and wonderful. Start the conversation! Work and responsibilities will always be there…almost indefinitely, but relationships are the sweetness to life! This retreat wasn’t the last! I’m already looking forward to our next adventure! Thanks my sisters, hugs to all of you!
Great work Kim! We’re in Provo with Annika enjoying your posts!!
Owen! I’m loving that you stopped by with our sweet Annika! Come again! 🙂
Fun slice of our weekend!! ❤️❤️🎉
So. Much. Fun!! Love you sis!!